At another time, at another place, in a city rarely seen by mortal eyes...
"Is...is it time to go back, already? I just got here--I haven't had time to learn."
"Your task has been completed, White Phoenix. Your universe is in peril, and you must return."
"But what if I'm not ready yet? What if the power proves too much and takes over again? What if I unleash another manifestation of the Dark Phoenix?"
"That is a risk we must take."
And, in a flash, the scenes of M'Kraan city fade from sight, replaced by the sensation of wind, the sounds of birds chirping and the blinding light of life. She doesn't remember how she came to stand here in Central Park, or why she is there at all. She knows that she died, but as a Phoenix must, she has returned. Bit for what purpose?
"Sights...sounds...so much so fast. I was...I was dead but...here I am, once more. Where...do I go? The school? Do I need...the X-Men? No...just one of them...the one most like me. The Omega. The Iceman."
The golden glow of primordial flame surrounds the reincarnated heroine as she takes to the skies in search of one of her oldest friends, for a purpose not yet clear to her.